--- Bill Bartlett <billbartlett at dodo.com.au> wrote:
> Then the name you have chosen is appropriate, you
> are probably not of
> this world.
Bill, you don't need to be rude or sarcastic. I made a point about the anti-semitic elements of Hamas' charta. You respond with something about "reds under the bed." I don't understand what your point is, and you say I am from another planet.
I am trying to discuss in good faith with you. Please extend me the same courtesy. I'm sorry if I cannot match your superior intellect, but yes, sometimes I don't understand your point and ask for an elaboration. You say I am "pulling your leg" but I assure you I am not. I don't know what you mean by "reds under the bed" within the context of the Hamas charta. Please explain.
> Deliberate "displacement" of an ethnic group *is*
> genocide, I've
> explained this to you before and I'm losing patience
> with your
> feigned refusal to understand the definition of
> genocide.
As I understand it, many of the Palestinian refugess were encouraged to leave their homes by Arab leaders with the assurance of a fast victory. I am sorry, but I find the "genocide" label in that context to be wrong.
As for current Israeli practice in Gaza and the West Bank, no question, it's brutal and horrible. But I think when people use the term "genocide," it's meant merely to exploit the resonance of the fact that the perpretrators of injustice in this case are Jews. Yoshie used the phrase "Holocaust envy" once to describe this sort of thing. What is happening to the Palestinians in the occupied territories is bad and can be condemned on its own terms, there's no need to use the word "genocide" just to win an audience.
> You are being deliberately obtuse as usual. To
> oppose the Jewish
> state is not to say that the Jews must be driven
> out, there is an
> obvious alternative. A non-sectarian nation.
This is a utopian demand. Every state on earth has clear definitions about who is a citizen and who is not. If you don't think so, try setting up a residency and looking for a job in any West European country. Israel is not obligated to accept Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza as citizens anymore than Australia is obligated to accept me as a citizen.
Call me deliberately obtuse if you want. I am discussing in good faith with you. If you think I am evil or deliberately obtuse, you have the freedom to ignore me. I find it irritating to contend with these personal attacks just because I don't accept a claim uncritically.
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